


he's in the rain

by kirbyanan



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Literary References & Allusions, M/M, Sharing Clothes, also the original character is not completely original, bonus points if you figure out who he is, minor mention of pet anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirbyanan/pseuds/kirbyanan
Summary: Jun doesn't know what his fears truly are until he stops being scared of them.oryanan always wears jun’s clothes, jun ends up saying “keep it” cause yanan looks cute. but jun is steadily running out of clothes.
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Yan An
Comments: 20
Kudos: 81





	he's in the rain

**Author's Note:**

> this prompt REALLY got away from me, but I absolutely love what it turned into and I hope you all do too. please indulge in the gentle side of jun that a lot of us forget exists under the energy infused ball that he appears to be.

_ It all started when he put up the promising flyer up on the bulletin at school. Not knowing what it could bring was what made him hesitate at first. _

_ ‘Looking for roommate, please call xxx-xxx-xxx’ _

_ Jun sighed as he took a step back from it, scratching his head. The flyer rustled in the wind that picked up, the lack of push pins threatening it’s escape. Jun looked up to see grey, puffy clouds coming closer together overhead, a few droplets turning into a heavy rain and just like that, a storm. _

  
  


* * *

The floor is a mess, as it always is in Junhui’s room. There’s empty bags of chips, a box of pizza with two abandoned cold slices inside, textbooks and notes and a sweatshirt he abandoned earlier when it got too warm in the room for his liking. Jun is lying in the middle of it all, phone in hand, when Jiongqiu walks in. As always, there’s no knock before he opens the door.

“I’m gonna go out, can you make sure Chestnut eats, she avoided her food yesterday,” Jiongqiu says, leaning against the door frame. Jun looks past his phone and at his roommate who isn’t looking directly at him, instead at his own phone. Jiongqiu’s wearing a purple turtleneck, tucked into matching plaid pants, the tones of his outfit matching well with his bleached hair, the light blue in it standing out more. His fingers are covered in rings and his ears are equally as decorated. There’s a small braid in a part of his hair too and a clip holding back the other side. Jun briefly thinks he looks cute, it’s hard not to notice frequently how pretty his roommate is when he dresses this nice all the time.

“‘Course,” Jun replies, sitting up and crossing his legs. Jiongqiu looks up from the text he’s probably typing out and gives him a short smile. The gum in between his teeth is visible as he talks again.

“Thanks, I’ll see you later tonight, don’t wait up,” he says before turning to leave again. Jun eyes the gap in the doorway for a moment then lays back down, returning to the content on his phone. He scrolls around all of his social media for another twenty minutes until meowing distracts him once again and he sits up to see Chestnut sitting at the open doorway. Jun thinks it’s funny that a cat would wait for permission before entering someone’s room when her owner seems to have never heard of the concept.

“Hi honey, come in,” Jun coos, sitting up again and outstretching his hand. Chestnut walks directly towards it, letting out another soft meow as she rubs her head against Jun’s knuckles. Jun smiles as his fingers cradle her head and he gently scratches a spot under her jaw. Chestnut comes closer until she finds exactly where she wants to sit: on top of Jun’s phone. Jun doesn’t have it in him to care though and simply turns back around to find his laptop, deciding it’s time to get back to doing his homework. Chestnut lays down, her head making contact with Jun’s thigh and Jun pets her once again, both of them settling in comfortably like this for the rest of the afternoon. Jun manages to finish his homework and he also gets Chestnut to eat a little bit. It’s not been long that Jiongqiu moved in with Chestnut and her anxiety over the new environment changed some of her behaviors, hardly eating included. Jun does his best to help out with caring for her though and she’s slowly begun to get a little better about it all. Jun has dinner as well and spends the rest of the night watching  _ Beastars.  _ He finishes it in one sitting, maybe cries a little, maybe doesn’t. He makes Chestnut swear not to tell anybody, so it’s all okay anyway. It’s 1am when he finally goes to bed, the sound of the door opening and two pairs of footsteps stumbling into the house going unheard as Jun dozes off.

  
  


It’s Friday the next morning, Jun takes note of that as he wakes up and stretches his limbs. There’s no school and no work responsibilities and waking up at whatever time it is now feels relaxing. He sighs, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds before finding his phone to scroll through for a good while. It’s another hour until he finally gets up, stepping into his slippers and shuffling towards the door. Just as he opens it, he hears the sound of the other door across the hall opening as well. He looks up, expecting to see Jiongqiu coming out only to be surprised by a much taller, dark haired boy that  _ definitely  _ is not Jiongqiu. What has his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the stranger is the fact that he’s hardly wearing anything. Jun is stuck frozen in place, not really sure what to do but stare in surprise. What doesn’t help is the fact this stranger is  _ insanely  _ attractive and he’s pretty sure, after staring for another few seconds that the one thing he’s wearing, besides the black boxer briefs that are peeking out underneath, is one of Jun’s t-shirts. Jun’s going to pass out.

“Hi, sorry, I uh-,” the stranger is saying, from where he stopped in the middle of the hallway to stare back at Jun in surprise, awkwardly tugging at the hem of the shirt as if it’ll help cover him up more . “I didn’t know he lived with anyone.”

It’s Jun’s cue now to snap back to reality and quickly shake his head. He has trouble not pointedly staring at the t-shirt though as he replies.

“No, no you’re fine, uh,” Jun pauses, still holding the doorknob but not making any move to leave the room or close himself back in and avoid the extremely awkward situation. Who is this guy? Is it Jiongqiu’s boyfriend? Why is he wearing Jun’s clothing? and a swarm of other questions fly around his mind. “I’m sorry, who are you?” he finally asks, curiosity getting the best of him. He can’t bother trying not to be blunt about it, when he’s not sure there’s any other way to clear up a weird meeting like this.

The stranger laughs awkwardly before answering, “Yanan, I’m uh-yeah, Yanan.” Jun eyes him weirdly then nods.

“Yanan, okay, I’m Jun, Jiongqiu’s roommate,” he answers. He decides now to step out of the room and walks around the corner of the hallway to the kitchen. Yanan hesitates then follows behind him. “And the owner of that shirt,” he adds, pointing towards it as he meets Yanan’s eyes briefly. They widen in surprise and he looks down at it quickly. They both stop in the living room.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, I just picked it up thinking it was his,” he answers quickly, “I’ll go change, sorry.” 

“No, no,” Jun interjects before he can think twice. He mentally curses himself. “No,” he says one more time, softer, and scratches his head, trying to think of a non-weird way to explain why he would say no to that. “I’m not a fan of that shirt anyway it doesn’t matter, don’t worry about it.” Yanan raises an eyebrow at him then smiles a little, Jun’s not sure why.

“You sure? I should change anyway, I’m just in…” he trails off as he looks down at his attire and Jun feels his cheeks start to heat up. It’s out of embarrassment for the entire situation. 

“I don’t mind,” Jun laughs awkwardly and finally unglues himself from the floor to walk to the kitchen where he was initially headed. “Just keep the shirt.” He doesn’t hear Yanan reply nor follow him and the long silence that follows lets him know he probably left. Jun tries to gather himself up from the situation, though isn’t sure why it’s  _ him  _ that feels so awkward about it when Yanan doesn’t seem so phased by it. He tries to ignore the thoughts of it, mostly the thoughts of how pretty the man is and how insanely tall he is as well. His legs seemed to stretch endlessly, a soft creamy color of skin, only slightly tan against the white of the shirt. His hair was fluffy and disheveled, half of it practically standing straight up. Jun’s spilling over his glass of milk when he realizes how quickly he got lost in the thoughts that overtook him. He curses aloud, quickly looking for a rag to clean it up.

“Morning,” Jun hears, startling him once again. This time he looks up to see Jiongqiu on the other side of the kitchen island, sitting on one of the stools. Jun sighs quietly to himself.

“Good morning.”

“I’m guessing you met him already,” Jiongqiu chuckles quietly, leaning his elbows on the counter. Jun nods and takes a sip from his glass, looking in the direction of their rooms.

“Is he… your boyfriend?” Jun asks and Jiongqiu laughs once again, shaking his head.

“Nah, he’s just a friend,” Jiongqiu says and Jun furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

“Just?”

“Well, not  _ just  _ a friend but we’re not dating,” he clarifies, though Jun feels like he’s still just as confused. Yanan walks into the room then, this time with jeans on, though he’s still wearing the same shirt, another one in his hand(probably his own). Jun swallows thickly. Yanan smiles in their direction though he stops before he gets too close.

“I’m gonna head home now,” he says and Jiongqiu stands up to walk him out, the two having a conversation that fades out as they walk closer to the door. Jun focuses on his glass of milk, trying his best to not listen in on their conversation. The front door opens and closes after another minute and the apartment is in silence again.

“‘m gonna shower,” Jiongqiu says from the other side of the wall as he walks towards the bathroom and Jun hums in response, though he knows Jiongqiu can’t hear him. So he’s left to his own thoughts.

The rest of his day is pretty mundane, easily compared to what happened that morning. He spends his time hanging out with Chestnut among other things until the day is over.

  
  





  
  


So goes by his week, busy with school and work, meeting friends, normal enough as a college boy’s life goes. The only thing that throws it off is when Yanan shows up again the following Thursday. Yanan’s presence startles him when he walks through the door after work. The boy is sitting on the couch, long legs crossed underneath him, covered by a pair of shorts that Jun recognized as Jiongqiu’s but a sweater that Jun knows right away is his. It’s the sweater he was wearing the night before and took off somewhere on the couch. Yanan looks up to meet Jun’s eyes and smiles, sitting up. Jun returns the gesture and makes his way past and into his room. He unpacks his backpack and changes out of his work clothes, opting for something more comfortable. His phone is almost dead so he plugs it into the wall and leaves it on his desk. Yanan is still sitting on the couch, watching something Jun’s pretty sure he’s had in his watch later list. It’s not something he was going to get to anytime soon, not really because he lost interest but for whatever reason he didn’t really know. He eyes the tv as he passes by into the kitchen to make himself a snack. Chestnut follows behind him, meowing when he opens the fridge and attempting to climb onto the shelf.

“Your food’s in your bowl silly,” Jun laughs, gently moving her out of the way to close the door. Chestnut meows in response, her head following Jun’s movements as food passes above her. Jun’s attention is redirected to the tv, looking through the opening in the wall of the kitchen that allows him access to. It looks interesting, and it keeps him watching as he silently prepares a sandwich and puts it on a plate, cut in half.

“Do you mind if I sit?” Jun asks as he steps into the space Yanan is occupying. Yanan looks up and exhales a short laugh through his nose.

“Yeah it’s fine, you own the couch, you know,” Yanan says, scooting over to allow him more space on the couch that’s big enough for four people. Jun sits and mimics Yanan’s position, placing a pillow on his lap and his plate on top. He takes a bite of the sandwich and hums quietly to himself.

“You want some?” he asks after he swallows and Yanan gives him a strange look. It doesn’t really occur to Jun that it’s a little weird to offer someone you barely know some of your food. He blinks back at Yanan, holding out his plate with the other half on it. Yanan eyes it, presumably decides he’s either hungry enough or the sandwich looks good and takes it off the plate. They both eat silently as they watch the screen, equally interested by the action packed anime. It had only just begun so catching up with the first episode was easy enough. They were about halfway through, sandwiches gone when Jiongqiu finally appears from the bathroom. 

“You hungry? I haven’t had anything to eat,” he says, distracting the two from the dialogue on the screen.

“Uh,” Yanan begins, readjusting in his spot so his legs uncross and his feet make contact with the carpeted floor. “Sure yeah,” he replies.

“Cool, how’s ramen sound, been craving it for a while. I think there’s a new place opened up by the school.” Yanan hums as he stands, the sofa shifting underneath Jun’s body with the movement.

“Yeah, let me just get changed.”

Jiongqiu and Jun are left alone in the living room, Chestnut jumps up into her owner’s lap, meowing.

“You wanna come with?” Jiongqiu asks him, his fingers rubbing at the small spot between Chestnut’s ears. She purrs.

“Hm?” Jun hums, glancing at his roommate with widened eyes, “Oh, uh… no I’m good.” Jiongqiu nods his head and it’s silent again save for the sounds of the tv. It’s a few moments before Yanan’s voice is heard from down the hallway.

“Is it okay if I borrow your hoodie? It’s cold outside!”

“Yeah sure,” Jiongqiu’s reply comes without hesitation. Yanan appears in the living room again a few seconds later, tugging at the sleeves of the sweater so his hands are tucked inside. Jun looks up to see he’s wearing the same sweater before he left. The only thing that’s changed is he’s wearing jeans now and his hair is fixed from the untidy way it looked before.

“Oh, that’s not mine,” Jiongqiu says, turning to look at Jun and Jun shakes his head right away.

“It’s fine, you can wear it,” is his quick reply and Yanan looks uneasy at first, glancing between the two boys on opposite couches. “Really it’s fine, just keep it,” Jun adds and turns his attention back to the screen. Yanan seems to have given in, if the small smile that tugs at his lips is anything to go by. Nothing else is said between them and soon they both leave. Jun’s left alone. Chestnut meows loudly. Not completely alone.

“I always have you don’t I?” Jun says with a smile, watching Chestnut slowly make her way towards him and find a spot on his lap to rest. He pets her gently and is reimmersed in the anime, watching the last few minutes then deciding to watch something else until Jiongqiu comes home a couple of hours later, alone.

  
  





  
  


A few weeks pass, Jun feels himself grow more and more tired as the semester gets heavier. Midterms are coming up and Jun’s doing well in all of his classes but if there’s one thing he’s terrible with, it’s studying. He tries his best, he really does, but information just goes through one ear and out the other. The only reason he’s doing well in class is because of how good he is at keeping up with homework and projects. Tests are not and will never be his strong suit. So he’s stressed, and tired, and wants the week to be over.

He’s in his room, laying on the soft carpet on his stomach as he goes through the notes he’s made for himself. The whole apartment is silent, Jiongqiu isn’t home yet and Chestnut is taking a nap in another room. Nevertheless, it’s not that easy for Jun to focus, reading and rereading his notes until he just skips over sections out of frustration. He hears the door open but stays focused on his notes. Why his professor thought anybody could easily memorize dates and names of over a dozen court cases that Jun hardly cared about, was a wonder to him.

“Jongie?” a voice calls, nearing the hallway. Jun’s startled from his thoughts, sitting up. ‘Jongie’? He starts to stand up and hears the soft thuds of footsteps on the floor right outside his door. Jun pushes himself to his feet and walks to the door, pushing it open to see a large figure nearing Jiongqiu’s door.

“Uh, Yanan?” Jun says in confusion and the taller man is startled, turning around quick.

“Oh,” he says, eyes a little widened, clearly just as confused as Jun.

“How’d you uh, get in?” Jun asks, opening the door further and looking around the hallway to look for signs of Jiongqiu.

“Jiongqiu told me where the spare was,” Yanan explains, “He told me nobody would be here.” Now Jun suddenly feels like  _ he’s  _ the intrusion. He’s not sure why Jiongqiu wouldn’t know he’d be home. It’s a Friday, there’s nowhere else for him to be.

“I think he’s still at work,” Jun replies. He wonders if he shouldn’t be there. If Jiongqiu invited him over and told him the apartment would be empty, surely that means Jun’s presence probably isn’t… welcome.

“Mm, I’ll just hang in his room,” Yanan says, beginning to back up in the direction of the opposite door. “Didn’t mean to scare you by the way.” Jun shakes his head, fingers twisting the doorknob he’s still holding.

“It’s fine,” he replies. Yanan disappears into the room and Jun is left to stare at his homework on the floor. He sighs, bending down to pick everything up. It’s quiet as he stuffs his notebooks into his backpack and laptop along with the charger inside as well. He finds his earphones on the nightstand and shuffles out of the room, swiping his keys from the kitchen and making his way out of the apartment.

  
  


_ <Hey, An told me you were home earlier> _

Jun checks his phone to read the text from Jiongqiu. It’s been about an hour since he left to find a café to sit and do his work. He eyes the text message and opens it up to respond before Jiongqiu sends another one.

_ <Thanks> _

Jun sighs and puts his phone back down, focusing on his work again. He spends another two hours there, goes through three cups of coffee, which isn’t good for him when he gets pretty wired halfway through the second cup. He realizes he won’t be able to focus anymore when it’s about 7pm and packs up to go home. The nice barista gives him a to-go cup for a fourth refill even though Jun didn’t ask nor was he going to drink but he thanks her anyway. The walk back home isn’t long, but nice along the way. The sounds of cars, sounds of people leaving restaurants and bright lights everywhere, all the life around him is peaceful to him. So he walks slow all the way back, the empty sound of the apartment unsettling when he arrives.

  
  





  
  


Jun’s taking a break from going over the extensive list of terms from his Natural Science class, sitting outside on the balcony. It’s a little late in the afternoon so the sun is low in the sky but it’s still bright. The breeze is gentle and Jun watches it blow loose leaves to the ground. It’s the sound of someone knocking on the glass door that takes his attention away. Yanan is on the other side, pulling the door open.

“Jiongqiu wanted to know if you wanted to eat, he went to go pick up some chicken,” the tall boy says. His phone is in one hand.

“Yeah sure,” Jun replies, giving him a small smile then looking back at the trees he was observing earlier. Yanan nods, typing back a response. He pockets his phone and looks at Jun again.

“It’s really nice out here huh,” Yanan comments. Jun looks at him again then follows his gaze to the array of potted plants that line the wall. They’re all plants Jun’s mother gave him to ‘give it a little life out here’. Jun thinks he’s done a good job keeping them alive. They’re a lot bigger than when he got them. Though most of them are losing their leaves in time with the season.

“Yeah, my mom decorated the whole place out here,” Jun says, looking around more, the lights that adorned the ledge and various wall hangings. Yanan hums in response.

“She did a nice job, I like it out here.” Jun smiles, eyeing the tall boy at the entrance. He’s tall enough to hit the top of the doorway if he rises up any higher.

“You saying it’s better than it is inside?” Jun says, tone serious enough that it makes Yanan look guilty right away.

“No, no, it’s-“ he starts, but Jun starts laughing and Yanan laughs as well after a moment. He rolls his eyes and steps onto the balcony. “Could I sit?” he asks, and Jun outstretches his arm in welcome. Yanan takes the chair next to him. It’s quiet for a while then Yanan speaks again, “Were you just birdwatching or something?” Jun presses his lips together, hesitating to answer. He feels kind of silly just sitting out here not doing anything but,  _ looking. _

“No just, I don’t know, watching everything I guess?” Jun says, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. Yanan smiles and his eyes follow the shape of shrubs and trees and the homes of other people nearby.

“It’s relaxing isn’t it?” Yanan says and sits back, sighing. Jun looks up at him now, sees the way Yanan is clearly being serious and nods. He visibly untenses once again.

“Yeah,” he hums.

Jun liked the quiet sounds of being out here, it helped clear his mind and relieve a little stress. But he welcomed the new sound of the conversation Yanan initiated between them. Though they weren’t out there for long, Jun felt like he easily got to know the other boy. It opened up the casual acquaintance he soon formed with him as the days went by. Small moments were like puzzle pieces, each one carrying a new detail about the other, like what kind of music he liked or how he broke his arm when he was 4 or the way his smile creased one cheek a tiny bit more than the other. And the more pieces Jun put together, the more he realized the picture was a lot larger than he previously thought.

  
  





  
  


There’s something Jun never liked. He hates having to accept it, and he’s really not sure why he doesn’t like it but it’s something he’s never managed to ‘get over’. It’s late at night when he hears the trickling of rain on his window start to pick up as the minutes pass by. The wind whistles outside and he can hear the leaves of the trees shake with the force of it. His fingers curl tighter around his blanket and he brings his knees up closer to his chest. The thing about storms is they seem to always come when you least expect them. Enjoying the rain and the smell of the earth, watching the water wash everything away, it’s only momentary. Tranquility only lasts so long; just as you get used to it,  _ boom _ , the first bolt of lightning strikes through the quiet.

Jun quickly scrambles to his feet, wrapping his blanket tight around his shoulders and shuffling out of his suffocating room. He squints in the darkness of the hallway, attempting to use only the little bit of light that shines through the blinds of the living room windows to guide his way. Jun hears the reassuring and  _ relieving  _ meows from Chestnut who hops down from the chair she usually likes to sleep in. He can see a little better once he’s in the larger room and moves closer towards the small cat, picking her up gently and holding her close.

“Hi honey,” he whispers, petting the spot between her ears as he finds the couch and sits back down. Chestnut purrs in his hold, just happy to have a new source of warmth, unaware of any reason she’s being held at one in the morning. Jun pulls his legs up onto the couch, securing the blanket around himself better. It’s then he hears footsteps a few feet away and is visibly startled, eyes widening and head snapping in the direction of the sound. He sees him come closer, stepping out from the kitchen with what looks like a glass of water in his hand.

“God, you scared me,” Jun sighs in relief, glad he didn’t run into a burglar caught in the act or something. Yanan appears in the glow of the moonlight that filters into one spot of the living room. He somehow looks taller this way, the features of his long legs and torso being highlighted more than usual. His skin looks warm, the broad expanse of it all showing in his half clothless state.

“Sorry,” he says gently. Jun’s body relaxes into the cushions again, though only for a second. Another loud strike is heard outside and Jun tries his best not to jolt too visibly, eyes closing for a second. Yanan turns to look at the window then back at Jun. He goes to sit next to him, Jun feeling his leg press against his before anything else. “I couldn’t sleep, I’m too light of a sleeper,” he says, taking a sip of his water. Jun glances up at him, his fingers rubbing Chestnut’s head habitually. He doesn’t reply, just nods instead, though Yanan’s focus is on his cup. “It also doesn’t help that Jiongqiu  _ snores _ ,” he adds with a light chuckle. Jun smiles and mimics the soft laughter. “Literally  _ so loud. _ ”

“Thankfully I can’t ever hear it from the room,” Jun replies this time, looking down at Chestnut again and running his hand down her back as she falls asleep through the sounds of their soft conversation.

“You’re too lucky,” Yanan says, looking at Jun now, Jun meets his eyes for just a brief second and then they’re both looking away again.

“What is it between you two really?” Jun asks after a few moments of silence. Yanan laughs again, gentle.

“It’s kind of,” he starts and trails away, then presses his lips together. “Hmm, I really don’t know. We’re friends, though just, not that close either, I don’t know how to explain it honestly.” He laughs again, looking down at his water.

“Friends with benefits,” Jun deadpans and Yanan snorts. He looks up at him again and rolls his eyes, amused.

“Sure, I guess, it just doesn’t feel that way.”

“Do you have feelings for him?” Yanan presses his lips together for a moment and Jun shakes his head. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” he says. It’s Yanan’s turn to shake his head now.

“Nah, you’re okay, I don’t, really. I just, I don’t know I feel like I should? We’re not so close that we have a friendship in the way of anything, there’s nothing that should really be getting in the way of, like, developing feelings toward each other.” Jun nods along as he listens, his eyes unwavering as he watches Yanan’s lips move and eyes scan the room as he talks. “It would make sense if I liked him and yet, here I am,” he purses his lips and looks at his glass once again. He takes a sip and Jun sighs, chewing on his lip.

“I mean it’s not like you really  _ have  _ to, even if it makes sense, even if you fit together in every way possible, if your heart’s not in it, there’s nothing you can do about it,” he says, Yanan smiles and looks up at him. “You can’t force it, so don’t. Just living in the moment sounds right doesn’t it?” Yanan nods and chuckles softly, reaching out to pet Chestnut as well.

“There’s only so long I can  _ live in the moment  _ though,” he hums. Chestnut purrs quietly and the sound of it seems to drain out the sound of the storm outside. It’s peaceful and warm, comforting. The seconds tick by slowly, but neither of them really notice how much time goes by. “You okay?” Yanan asks after a long while and Jun looks up, raising his eyebrows. He bites his lip for a second. “You just seemed a little startled earlier,” he says. Jun breathes out a short puff of laughter and looks away.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, not adding anything else. Yanan nods and doesn’t say more on the matter either. It’s another few moments of silence between them again before Yanan speaks up.

“Do you wanna play a game?” he asks and Jun laughs right away, looking at him. He opens his mouth ready to question why he would offer something like that at two in the morning. Though he decides against it because, who cares?

“Sure what game?” he says, amusement bringing a smile to his lips. Yanan grins, pushing himself up off the couch and going to set his cup down on the table in the middle of the room. He crouches down by the cabinet that holds up the tv and pulls open the bottom drawer. Jun hardly ever opens any of those, not sure he’s ever even put anything in there. Yanan pulls out a deck of  _ Uno  _ cards and turns back around, moving his legs so he settles into a sitting position with his legs crossed underneath him. Jun doesn’t even bother questioning where the game came from and stands up as well, careful as to not wake Chestnut. Though just as any other cat, the moment Jun shifts, she’s hopping off to find another place to sleep and not be disturbed. Jun settles on the floor across from Yanan, blanket abandoned behind him. He watches as the other shuffles the cards, thin fingers handling them expertly. Jun forgets about rationality telling him he’ll end up falling asleep soon, eager to have something to do. Happy to have someone to do that with.

  
  


The next morning, Jun has dark circles under his eyes, his skin is pale. He knows even the hot cup of coffee he pours himself isn’t going to help him wake up. The sound of Yanan’s feet softly thudding against the floor near closer. His body comes into contact with the counter as he leans against it. Jun’s eyes follow the trace of his body, up to his eyes. He chuckles softly and shakes his head.

“That’s my shirt,” he says, looking back down at his coffee as he picks up the mug, other hand stirring the milk and sugar into the hot liquid with a spoon. Yanan looks down at his shirt, pulling at the hem of it with both hands. Either he’s too tired to formulate a response or doesn’t care to. “You know Jiongqiu’s clothes are all size small,” Jun says, though with more amusement in his tone than actually bothered by it. Yanan chuckles, looking up at the other.

“Why’re your clothes everywhere around this apartment?” he asks instead, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe ‘cause I live here?” Jun laughs, his eyes crinkling, truly finding it funny. Yanan can’t help but laugh as well, soft giggles as he shakes his head.

“You’re right,” he says. Both of them look a little less tired than they actually are at that moment. Yanan’s fingers find the hem of the shirt again, beginning to pull it off.

“Just keep it,” Jun says without missing a beat, walking around the taller boy and going to find a banana to complete his breakfast. Yanan scoffs.

“I can’t just keep it every time,” he laughs, once again pulling the clothing up his abdomen. “Do you hate it that much that I’ve worn it or something?” Jun turns around again, eyes widening when he meets the once again half-naked boy. He’s beginning to believe he’s seen him more times unclothed than not. His eyes find Yanan’s as quickly as he can and wills the gears in his brain to keep turning.

“No, it just looks better on you,” he says with a shrug. He tells himself it came off cool and nonchalant. Yanan’s soft smile instead of a laugh or scoff in response is what makes the warmth rise up in his cheeks.

“Thanks,” he replies, smile widening. He looks down at the shirt again and folds it in half, throwing it over his shoulder. Jun looks at the coffee in his mug. “‘m gonna shower,” Yanan says, passing by the other boy and disappearing past the dividing wall. Jun nods, only glancing up for a second to watch him leave then breathes out a small breath of air.

  
  





  
  


Yanan doesn’t appear again for a while, a longer time than usual. The time for exams pass by and there’s nothing to busy Jun’s mind anymore and the absence of the other boy in the apartment is a lot more noticeable. He realizes he got used to it. Yanan popped in often enough for Jun to grow accustomed to his presence, began to grow comfortable with his voice and laugh, sharing fleeting moments under the same roof that Jun lived under and Yanan passed through. Now there was just… silence? boredom? Jun didn’t know.

Jiongqiu’s nice, and Jun likes him enough, though they’d never really gotten any closer than comfortable with living  _ around  _ each other. It doesn’t help that their schedules are almost completely opposite and anytime they would be home at the same time, Jiongqiu is going out. Jun’s thankful for the presence of Chestnut who follows him around and sits with him even when he’s doing absolutely nothing. And nothing comes more often than not.

On a Saturday night, Jun is sitting in the living room, rewatching the first episode of the anime he never finished with Yanan. His focus is hardly on the tv though, the sounds of Jiongqiu pattering between his room and the bathroom distracting him.

“Have you seen my blow dryer?” Jiongqiu calls from the bathroom. He’s been rummaging through the cabinet for a while now.

“No,” Jun answers him. “You can borrow mine,” he then adds and Jiongqiu doesn’t answer. A few seconds later he hears the loud buzz of the machine blowing hot air. Jun fiddles with the remote in his hands, watching the characters on the screen blankly. The sound in the bathroom turns off and Jun clears his throat.

“What happened to Yanan?” Jun asks, loud enough for his roommate to hear him. There’s no response at first and Jun starts to regret bringing it up. It’s been long enough for him to know whatever was going on between them was probably over. Maybe Jiongqiu didn’t want to talk about it.

“Eh, I guess we both got bored or something,” he finally answers. “I found someone new to entertain me, I’m meeting him tonight,” he adds after another moment of silence. Jun nods even though Jiongqiu can’t see him. It’s clear there really was nothing of importance going on between the two. When he finally walks into the living room it’s to show Jun the outfit he’s wearing. “You think this looks okay?” It takes Jun a second for him to concentrate again and look at him. He smiles and gives him a thumbs up.

“You look great,” he replies, a small smile on his lips. Jiongqiu grins immediately, and Jun thinks it probably wouldn’t have mattered what he said. Jiongqiu seems to be satisfied quite easily with the smallest compliment. He disappears once again into his room and Jun sighs, attempting to focus on the anime again. After a while, Jiongqiu is almost completely ready and Jun begins to get cold, getting up to find a sweatshirt to wear. He rummages through his closet for a good minute, trying to find the one he usually wears only to realize that it’s definitely not going to be there. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head, his fingers running over the empty hangers of the other clothing he’s missing. He knows he didn’t give away much of his stuff but it’s evident now everything Yanan took were things Jun actually wore often.

  
  
  
  


_ <I’ll be home late tonight> _

Jun picks up his phone to read the text message from Jiongqiu then sets it back down on the wooden table at the café he’s sitting in. Doing his homework here started to become a habit. It’s nice; the smell of coffee, the sound of people around him. And the accompaniment of the light pattering of rain on the large glass wall today is soothing.

Another text comes in.

_ <Yanan wants to know if you want your clothes back, he says he feels bad about taking so much> _

Jun smiles and shakes his head.

_ <It’s fine, I don’t mind> _

He sets his phone back down and looks at the textbook in front of him once again. He finds himself reading and rereading the same page a couple of times. His phone buzzes again.

_ <He says it’s not> _

The second line includes a series of numbers. Jun blinks at it dumbly for a few seconds. It takes him a couple of minutes and an attempt to continue reading before he copies and pastes the number into the new message bar.

_ <Hi> _

The first message is sent and Jun chews on his lip then adds another.

_ <It’s Jun> _

He stares at the bubbles for half a minute, biting his bottom lip absentmindedly then once again typing another message to clarify that Jiongqiu gave him the number but the reply comes in and stops his typing.

_ <That took you a while to finally text me> _

Jun scoffs, though the smile on his lips comes fast.

_ <I’m doing my homework, I’ve got a life you know> _

Said homework is left abandoned underneath his arms as he leans forward on the table, tapping on the screen impatiently as he waits for Yanan’s reply.

_ <Sure… Anyway, I have your address don’t think I won’t put your clothes in the post if you don’t let me give them back to you> _

_ <Why do you insist on giving them back do you hate them that much?> _

_ <Why do you insist on me keeping them am I a charity case?> _

_ <You know I told you you look nice in them> _

_ <:)> _

Jun smiles to himself, easily being able to picture the same look on Yanan’s face. His teeth always appear when he smiles, anytime the emotion is genuine, it shows entirely through the shape of his mouth. Smiling was always the best way to see him. 

_ <Still, please let me give them back> _

_ <Fine...> _

  
  


Jun feels secure in telling himself he  _ didn’t  _ miss the other boy. When he sees him appear as he pulls the front door open, the smile that tugs at his lips is purely out of politeness.

“Oh man, Jiongqiu isn’t here actually,” Jun says playfully and Yanan immediately grins, though attempts to look annoyed as he rolls his eyes. Yanan holds the bag up in his hand that presumably has his clothes in it.

“I washed them so you don’t have to worry about my  _ germs  _ or anything,” Yanan says. Jun sighs heavily, shaking his head.

“I told you-“

“Yes yes I look hot in them I know,” Yanan interrupts him. Jun presses his lips together again in a tight line, attempting not to smile in response(or… blush). Neither of them say anything else and Yanan’s eyes shift to look inside the apartment. Jun hesitates for a second before pulling the door open wider.

“Do you wanna come in? I was gonna make some tea,” Jun says lamely, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. Yanan smiles right away and steps inside. He’s careful as he takes his jacket off and shoes, not wanting to get anything too wet with the rainwater. Jun places the bag with his clothes on the kitchen table as he leads the other inside. 

“I didn’t think you liked tea, you’re always drinking coffee,” Yanan comments as he follows behind Jun. He steps back to lean against the counter, crossing his arms. Jun shrugs, pouring the hot water into two mugs. Yanan knows he didn’t pull out the second one after he came in.

“I like both,” he replies. Jun presses a few tea leaves into each of the little containers that holds them and rests them in the water. He hands Yanan his mug. It feels nice against his hands, the same feeling given by sitting by a fireplace in the middle of winter. It’s only autumn. A few more moments of silence pass by, though both of them are clearly eager to interrupt it.

“How ha-“

“Do yo-“

They both laugh shortly.

“Go ahead,” Yanan says first this time. Jun hesitates then steps forward to walk out of the kitchen.

“Come on, let’s sit,” he says. Yanan follows him to the living room and they both silently decide to sit on the floor instead.

“It’s really been a while since I’ve been here,” Yanan comments over the steam coming from his mug. He takes a careful sip. Jun hums.

“It’s kind of weird honestly,” he replies. His breath blows away the steam that rises. Both of his hands are warm now and the liquid that runs down his throat warms the rest of him.

“Is it?”

Jun nods, looking at him this time.

“Yeah, you were around a lot y’know.” Yanan furrows his eyebrows then laughs gently.

“I didn’t think I was.”

“I spent enough times out of the apartment to tell you that, yeah you were,” Jun chuckles, bright. However, Yanan frowns in response.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t realize that,” he says and now Jun looks confused. It takes him a second to realize how it sounded.

“No no, it’s fine, I didn’t care,” he reassures immediately. It doesn’t ease Yanan’s guilt though.

“No, it was kind of rude honestly, fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you  _ left _ every time. You live here you shouldn’t have to.”

“Did you think I would stick around and listen?” Jun jokes, attempting to bring humor to the situation instead. Yanan only smiles a little, and Jun places a hand on his knee. “Seriously, I don’t care, the ladies at the café were really nice. It's like a second home now.” Yanan still doesn’t look completely reassured but he smiles anyway and nods.

“Sorry, anyway,” he says again. Jun smiles and pats his knee before moving his hand completely.

“It’s okay,” he replies. The silence welcomes itself back into the conversation, Jun thinks it’s too loud. “It was nice when you were around, really. You know I’ve been dying to finish the anime we started, the least you could’ve done was stick around for that.” Yanan’s lips stretch out a little wider now and then they’re both moving without another word. Jun grabs the remote and they both turn to sit with their backs against the couch, the space between their shoulders small enough that any movement would result in collision. They watch quietly, the sound of the tv drowning out the rising thrum of the water droplets on the window. They get through more episodes than they can count, surprisingly. Jun gets them snacks as they watch, soon growing just as comfortable as they were about a month ago. They laugh and comment on everything that happens, silently agree to watch another episode after the previous one ends. As time passes, their energy slowly dies down in time with the moon rising in the sky. And before he knows it, Jun’s fallen asleep, head resting on Yanan’s shoulder, soft snores drowned out over the sound of the heavy rain outside.

When he wakes up, it’s to the sound of thunder. He jolts up right away, eyes wide and a gasp leaving his lips. He meets darkness before anything else, there’s hardly any light filtering in through the windows.

“You okay?” Yanan says from the spot he never left next to him. His hand touches his arm and Jun jumps again, turning his head quickly to look at the other. He relaxes as soon as he realizes it’s him then clenches his teeth, realizing how ridiculous he probably looks.

“Yeah, I’m okay, sorry,” he says and looks around. “I fell asleep.” Yanan nods, it’s obvious. The tv is off and Yanan is holding his phone in his other hand. He doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep but apparently Yanan’s been awake throughout it. Yanan opens his mouth to say something in response but another lightning bolt thunders through the room and Jun tenses immediately, his fingers curling into fists and his eyes squeezing shut. Yanan’s hand curls around his arm even more and he tugs him closer. Jun doesn’t move.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Yanan says and Jun shakes his head.

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” Jun replies and Yanan sighs. The wind whistles outside and the trees shake. Jun is looking down at his lap intensely, shaking his head. There’s more thunder in the distance and Jun pulls his knees up to his chest. Yanan moves his hand and instead wraps his whole arm around his now compact figure, pulling him closer without any hesitation this time. “I said I’m fine,” Jun says right away but Yanan is wrapping his arms around him and Jun finds himself pressing his face into his chest. “I’m fine,” he repeats. Yanan hums, his chin hooked over Jun’s head.

“You’re fine,” he replies, his other hand rubbing Jun’s back. The storm is louder than the first one was, unpredictable and reckless, unknown. It could go for a few hours, it could go into the next day, it could wash away the streets or litter them with debris. There was no telling what the storm could do but Jun forgot the thoughts of it all as he listened to the beat of Yanan’s heart under his head and his gentle breathing. The minutes tick by slowly and Jun feels calmer, like he might fall asleep again. The only reason he doesn’t is because of how aware he begins to be of the fact he’s being tightly held by Yanan. He almost doesn’t want to pull away when he does, and he can  _ almost  _ admit he’s thankful when Yanan tightens his arms around him, refusing to let him move another centimeter. Jun doesn’t attempt to move anymore, his arm instead resting against Yanan’s stomach. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing himself to not be so intensely attune to Yanan invading all of his senses. His body is warm and chest softer than he could have expected. His breathing is quiet, the sound mingling with his own. His shirt brings the aroma of the tea and cookies they had earlier along with the faded scent of something clean. Through the darkness he can barely see the outline of Yanan’s shirt and his arm that’s wrapped around Jun’s waist. He presses his lips together and brings his attention up to the other boy, somehow being able to look at Yanan. He quickly finds Yanan already looking back at him. Jun doesn’t think, he would rather not in this situation. With Yanan caged into every single one of his senses, it’s difficult to make himself think even if he wants to. All of them, except one. Yanan’s eyes scan Jun’s face, a mix of worry and something else in the way he looks at him.

“Is this okay?” Yanan asks, so quiet Jun almost needs to move closer to hear him. He nods, still not daring to look away. Yanan’s eyes flicker towards his lips for a second so fast Jun would have missed it if his body wasn’t begging him to let Yanan in. Jun kisses him first, quick and overly cautious, swallowing hard the moment he pulls back. His body starts going into overdrive, already trying to escape from Yanan’s hold but Yanan brings his hands up to Jun’s face and steadies him right away. Their lips make contact again before Jun can even process it. And the moment he does, there’s nothing to hold him back from returning it, his fingers clutching Yanan’s shirt as his lips move against his softly. They pull back but only to meet again more ready than the first two. Yanan’s lips are soft and addicting, meld in between Jun’s own in a way that makes him crave more and more with each second. They don’t kiss for long and Jun doesn’t fully regret pulling back when his eyes meet Yanan’s again. They’re enough to bring him back to earth. His smile comes fast and Yanan mimics it, licking his lips. Jun looks away first, shaking his head. He wants to say something to break the silence, mostly something funny so he can attempt to look like this wasn’t that big of a deal. Instead he giggles, his head knocking Yanan’s chest, embarrassment not letting him do anything more than hide himself again. Yanan laughs as well and pats Jun’s back. “You’re so cute,” he says and Jun shakes his head against him, looking up.

“Don’t say that,” he says, the pink on his cheeks hidden in the darkness.

“Why not, it’s true,” Yanan says with a shrug and Jun would be jealous of the fact Yanan actually can act cool about the situation if it wasn’t helping him feel more comfortable. “You‘ve called me hot on multiple occasions-“

“I never said that,” Jun protests right away, laughing, he hits Yanan’s chest gently with his fist.

“It was implied,” Yanan says, pretty smile resting on his lips.

“I should’ve realized before how full of yourself you are,” Jun teases. Yanan shrugs.

“Do I not have reason to be?”

“I guess not,” Jun says, and it’s a little too serious in the moment but he doesn’t regret it after Yanan’s response.

“Can I kiss you again?”

Jun smiles, soft, looking from Yanan’s warm eyes to his lips before he closes the space once more. The kiss is slow and a little easier than before. Jun can take the time to learn what the outline of Yanan’s lips feel like on his, what the taste of it is like. He can let the presence of them make him forget anything else that’s going on or anything that could happen. Yanan’s being, Yanan’s  _ presence _ that fills every bit of him that needed it makes anything else seem minuscule and unimportant. It doesn’t matter that the storm is rattling everything outside and the thunderous sounds of the sky could be a warning to the earth below. Even if it brings destruction, or if it pulls the sun out from behind the clouds, nothing is ever predictable and Jun just can’t expect it to be. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i dont usually ask for comments but please let me know what you all think, I love it myself but I don't know if it's truly as good as I think it is hhh thank you all for reading !!


End file.
